Ah Spring, just when I had finally recovered from my fall allergies, you have arrived! But seriously, it is an exciting time. New seasons are being announced and we are all making preparations and plans for the summer. For some of you, that means summer camps for the kids, for others, it means reading, learning, working, trying to cool off, and/or taking new local adventures.
There are so many creative opportunities for kids during the summer months. Of course, there is always Port Discovery Children’s Museum where activities and programming abound year-round. Right now, you can check out their Dream Big, Play More summer camp. There’s also always something happening for families with Art Adventures at The Walters Art Museum and Family Activities at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Looking for a special performance experience? Check out the Contemporary Arts Summer Activity Extraordinaire (SAX) Music and Dance Camp for youth ages 8 to 17 years-old with Wayne Johnson and Carl Grubbs. Womb Works Summer Theater Project is a job opportunity open to 25 youths ages 14-21. It is facilitated through a partnership with the OED YouthWorks, which provides a summer job for those who sign up through the YouthWorks website. This dynamic collaboration involves WombWork Productions, Coppin State University, and the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development.
You can also check out Habimah Arts Camp and Children’s Theater Camp at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore, home of The Gordon Center. There’s more at The Enoch Pratt Free Library, Arena Players, Baltimore Center Stage, Camp Hippodrome, and Everyman Theater to name just a few!
To see a comprehensive list of summer camps, please visit Baltimore's Child Magazine.
To promote your organization’s cultural summer camp for free, post to GBCA’s calendar, CultureFly and plug into an audience with an interest in arts and culture. The site receives over 100,000 unique visitors every year!
For those of us lucky enough to have enjoyed summer camp, looking back can evince important memories and friendships that had lasting impressions. One such place, as documented in The Jewish Museum of Maryland collection was Camp Louise. It was founded by Baltimore philanthropists Lillie and Aaron Strauss.They created Camp Louise and Camp Airy, two Jewish summer camps for under-privileged children located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Maryland. Aaron and Lillie frequently visited the camps and knew every camper by name.
If you haven’t already, you can also watch the documentary Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution to get a sense of how a free wheeling camp in the the 1970s mobilized and changed the lives of teenagers with disabilities including activist Judy Heumann, considered the mother of disability rights.
I’ve also been thinking about my summer reading list and expect to be influenced by the 20th Annual CItyLit Festival: Lifting as we Climb, which starts this weekend. Don’t miss it!
All my best,
Jeannie
P.S. Is nothing sacred? Reality TV has infiltrated the fortress of high art, the Hirshhorn Museum in particular. The Exhibit: Finding the Next Great Artist, which does aim to tackle serious issues, launched on March 7 and can be viewed on the Smithsonian Channel. President Samuel Hoi of Maryland Institute College of Art is participating as one of the judges.
